


sometimes the past echoes in the future

by stuckinastory



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, F/M, Introspection, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:35:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24527749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuckinastory/pseuds/stuckinastory
Summary: Three people Sara Lance falls in love with, one she could've given the chance, and one she just might. (For good.)
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Sara Lance, Nyssa al Ghul/Sara Lance, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe, Sara Lance/Oliver Queen, Sara Lance/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	1. Oliver

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t sleep. I’ve been watching Legends, making my way steadily through the first three seasons so yeah, this popped into my brain. I’m not as familiar with the Arrowverse as I do with the rest of what I write so let me know if this has continuity errors. The title is from a Walk the Moon song aptly entitled ‘Avalanche,’ if you want to know where my loyalties lie. Canon compliant until Season 3 of Legends of Tomorrow.

_Oliver._

He starts off as a teenage crush. He’s hard to resist, blonde, blue-eyed, and athletic, a few years older than she was. The fact that he was the heir to a conglomerate did not make him any less irresistible to her. He starts hanging around them after school, studying with Laurel and a few of their friends. She mentions him to Laurel, one time, after she’d spent a few hours swinging her legs and looking at him, ignoring her textbooks and foregoing any pretense of studying.

In a few months, he will be the latest in a long line of rule-breaking men she will date, another headache for Quentin and Dinah Lance to deal with. A humongous one, in hindsight.

One that changes the course of their lives forever.

The two of them return to the hangar for a sparring session after everyone else except for Dig has left it. Their new base, tailored to address all the team’s needs to solve their Dominator problem, echoes in the middle of the night. It reminds her of many a training session in a cave all those years ago, in Nanda Parbat. It reminds her of an evening stranded in Lian Yu.

When she looks up at Oliver’s face after withdrawing her weapon, she wonders if he thinks about the same thing. A few days ago, she stood and watched as Supergirl guessed all their names while they were standing in a line-up. Who would’ve thought that an impetuous decision would have led to them building this, building everything they have today?

The two of them are harder now, his rounded face thinner, revealing a sharper jaw. He’s no less handsome, he might even be more so now that he’s older. Now that life’s weathered him enough to dispose of his boyish charm and pride and reveal courage and tenacity. She likes him this way.

Oliver charging her and tackling her to the ground brings her out of her thoughts.

“What’s going on with you?”

She shrugs.

“Keep your guard up,” He growls. “These aliens aren’t going to show mercy on you. What’s the matter with you? You don’t get this sloppy.” He swings and she ducks, giving herself enough time to pick up the eskrima sticks and start sparring with him again. She parries his moves and makes him move back, finally on the defensive. She joins the sticks into her staff and attacks again.

“I was reminiscing.”

Their weapons clang again. She almost takes his head off and he seems pissed. “That’s going to get you killed.” He shakes his head slightly and goes after her. She leaps away from an almost hit and strikes him on the shoulder. One, two. He shakes it off and runs towards her. The two of them parry some more and he ducks her swing, before tapping her on the stomach, enough to make her bend over and Dig almost rush over to the two of them, afraid it was getting unfriendly.

“I was thinking about you,” She replies, and it looks like he got hit in the stomach. “About us.”

His face is pained and he lowers his own bo staff. “Sara.”

The two of them lower their weapons and sit cross-legged on the hard floor.

“Who would’ve thought all this started with the two of us?”

Dig walks away, as if sensing that his presence wasn’t entirely necessary. He looks up at her and for a second she looks like a young adult again, her cheeks still a little round, her hair a bit short, and her eyes sparkling with a bit more light. Some days, he hates himself for what he’s done to her. Other days, he feels grateful that they both survived. Grateful that they have each other.

“Not our fathers, for sure,” He replies, gruffly, and she laughs, her voice high and light. He brings an arm up and she scoots over to him, her head tucking into the crook of his neck.

“I don’t regret it,” He says and pauses for a few seconds. “Only part of it.”

She thinks of the woman they both love, the one they hold in their hearts dearly, the one they try to do justice to. Their strongest tether was never a misguided dalliance on a yacht or years of being shaped into something they were never meant to be. “Me too.”

She looks up at him, and for a moment, he’s young again.

“Love you, Ollie.”

He smiles, a bit wistfully, and kisses her forehead. “Love you too, Sara.”

She closes her eyes and smiles, a hand going up to her necklace.


	2. Nyssa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've set this to happen sometime during the last episode of season 2 and 3x01. I hope it makes sense character-wise and timeline-wise.

_Nyssa._

_When they see each other again, Sara finds herself holding a breath. The air is thick, and it is also freezing. She watches as Nyssa walks up to her, her eyes wander to her right hand, unsheathing a knife. A part of her itches to run, another itches to fight, and another itches to reach out to the woman she left under the covers of darkness, to whisper a thousand apologies to her beloved. Because even now, even as Oliver watches only a few feet away, a part of her stops at the sight of the woman who uncovers her hood. The woman with the piercing eyes._

She wakes up and hears nothing but the steady hum of the ship as they stay parked in the temporal zone. She feels aimless now, the Legends in some sort of limbo as they figure out what to do next. Rip had stared at her, coldly, as though the past two years had meant nothing.

She’d nearly died saving the world, at least twice. Once by his hand, even, and he shows no remorse, no kindness to her and to the rest of the team. He allows his Time Bureau to be built with nothing but contempt and mockery for the Legends, as if they had never saved each other, never built something that was close to a home. She burned with anger and willed herself to go to sleep, but she couldn’t. She headed to the bridge, to the small quarters, and poured herself a drink from the ship’s well-stocked cabinet. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed her scotch. 

_She was lying on the grass, looking up at the stars. There was an ache in her heart that would not pass so easily but looking up at the stars helped. Sometimes she’d imagine that she was lying next to her, rambling about the constellations and how to navigate using only the stars._

_Her mind played the last few moments of their time together—Sophia, bruised and wounded, fighting Nyssa to a draw until Ra’s Al Ghul himself found the two of them and a small group of assassins crowded around the duel. Their daggers were pointed at each other’s throats, but Nyssa had one knee on the ground. Upon seeing her father, she reached out with her other hand to slash Sophia’s face, but Sophia moved quickly, just enough to dodge a blade that would have left her with a scar across her face. Ra’s Al Ghul’s eyes darkened even more._

_“She was a fool to not strike me down when she had the chance, a fool to let you go,” Nyssa murmured, walking up to her. “She was a skilled fighter, but I don’t think I’ll be too sad at her loss.”_

_A part of Sara remained wary of this woman, who carried salvation and destruction in equal measure. A woman who had feather light touches when they danced, who blazed like fire when she held a weapon in her hands. A woman whose little rebellions would include sneaking snacks from the kitchen and wrapping them in napkins, to hand to her before she left for a mission. A woman who would leave her food and drink but would punish anyone who would dare show her such kindness. Sara could recognize it in herself, that fierce loyalty that inspires devotion. She just didn’t know if she was worthy of it, of the obvious adoration from this imposing heir._

_It had been over a year, and Sara could no longer let Nyssa’s courtship of her go unnoticed. If Sophia was dead, she was never coming back anyway. If she was exiled, she was as good as dead, for there was no way she was returning to Nanda Parbat. And if she left of her own volition—then Sara was nothing more to her. Still, Sara mourned. Sara had mourned her, mourned for the loss of a love who loved the smell of cut grass and the light from the moon. Mourned for a woman who loved to smile knowingly, even in the face of the League’s harsh training. Mourned for a woman who enjoyed reading philosophers as much as she did fighting with a sword._

_These days, she could feel her heart breathing easy now, as though it was only making room._

_"Ta-er al-Sahfer, if you allow me, I will give you my full devotion,” Nyssa said. “You will never want for anything for as long as I love you, and I will love you until my last breath.”_

_“Forever is quite the promise.”_

_“Forever is what you deserve.”_

_There was another woman waiting to love her, who would choose her first and duel to the death for her. A woman who understood how she cherished being chosen. Oliver had hidden her from the world, and Sophia had been swept away from her life. Here was Nyssa, who danced with her like no one else mattered. Nyssa, who’d send her messages while she was out on a mission. Nyssa, who’d bathe with her in the evening and murmur close to her ear, but still give her room._

_Nyssa sat next to her. “Will you let me love you, Ta-er al-Sahfer?”_

_Sara longed to feel a love that was only hers, a love that seemed to collapse entire worlds and fold them at the bottom of her feet. She leaned in and kissed Nyssa, feeling like she’d just stolen something precious. The two of them smile at each other, the moonlight shining on their faces._

“Where is she, Gideon?”

“She’s currently in Japan, training with her sensei, Captain Lance. She seems to be healthy, Captain. There are no active threats to her life or to those closest to her,” Gideon responded.

“Where is she living now?”

“Ms. Al Ghul retains a residence in Star City under the name Nyssa Raatko, I believe she still works with Mr. Queen when the need arises,” Gideon added. “Would you like to send a message?”

“Tell her—”

Almost a minute passed before Gideon chimed in again. “Captain?”

“Tell her I’m safe and that I wish her well.” Sara took a shallow breath and added, “Tell her I just want her to know, but I don’t need her to respond. It’s okay. I’m okay.”

The dull ache that has been present since the last time they saw each other eases, and she feels just as she did that day on the mountain. A part of her making room.

“Anything else, Captain?”

“No, that will be all, Gideon.”

She takes a swig of her scotch.

“Oh, one more thing,” Sara says to Gideon, as she walks to her room. “Turn the gym lights on.”


	3. Sophia, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is longer because Sophia Montalban was a character that latched on to me so tightly. That meant finding myself deeper into the Arrowverse than usual because I had to find enough wiggle room to introduce her and her back story, so it's going to be a two-parter. She's also a character in a multi-chapter I'm thinking of that may potentially be a sequel to this story. I'm only watching Legends and have enough knowledge of the Arrowverse to make sure my story squeezes in snugly enough, so if there's a continuity issue, that is definitely my lack of knowledge of the rest of the 'verse talking. Feedback's always appreciated, so please let me know how you're enjoying this part of the story. 
> 
> I hope I didn't muck up the translation for the two things that were not in English in this whole story, I did my research and I hope that it was a decent enough translation. If you're a native speaker of the languages I reference to in this chapter and you feel I messed it up, send me a message and I'll make sure to correct it.

_Sophia._

When she was being initiated into the League of Assassins, there were three pairs of eyes always staring at her. The first was Ra’s Al Ghul’s, whose eyes were a mix of curiosity, thoughtfulness, and suspicion; the second was Nyssa’s, which were impetuous, passionate, and adoring; and Sophia’s, whose eyes were also curious, yes, but her eyes were also impish and compassionate. They were enthusiastic, not a very common trait in the league. They were also inquisitive, the way a child’s eyes would shine at seeing a butterfly emerge from the first time. It unnerved Sara, to see such kindness in the face of nothing but stone, steel, and fire. It made her wonder, more than a few times, if Sophia was an aberration, a figment of her imagination. There was no reason a woman like her should exist, much less thrive in a place like Nanda Parbat.

She wore maroon, a shade of it so dark it would almost be mistaken for black. She was buttoned up and in pants, like Ra’s himself with chainmail and leather. Sara had seen her once, in a caped hood, during a ritual before the League set off some of its members for their missions. She was surprised to see Sophia in full regalia. She thought, as did many of the new initiates, that the dark-haired woman with the pixie cut was a mere translator or scribe, given how often she spent her time in the library. When she was not in the library, she would be out in the forest or in the gardens, tending to the food that they grew for the kitchens. She hardly even seemed like a fighter.

Sara could feel Sophia’s eyes on her as she parried with another initiate. He’d swung angrily, frustrated at being evenly matched with a girl. She waited for him to lunge at her and kneed him in the solar plexus before divesting him of his sword and holding hers to his throat and his own sword to his side. She stared him down and asked, coolly, “Do you yield?”

The initiate grunted, reluctantly, and she threw his sword back to him. When they circled each other for another round, she took a chance and looked up. Sophia looked up from her book and tilted her head at Sara. She smirked, knowingly, and then went back to her book.

“Al-Faylasuf!” Someone called out and the hall of dueling warriors paused, each signaling the end of their current battles before turning to Sophia, who merely looked up from her book. “This is no place for you,” The taller man spoke, spitting on the ground. “Warriors train here, not pacifists.”

“I’m studying fighting styles,” Sophia said, turning back to her book. “In theory and in action.”

Sara and a few other of the newer initiates started pushing themselves to the front. The challenge was clear. Sophia had been one of the first people to teach them about the League’s ways, and when she accepted the challenge, they would get to see how she fought. The man challenging her only had a year’s worth of training ahead of them. Sophia was rumored to have joined the League earlier, when she was a young girl, and she trained alongside both of Ra’s daughters.

“You read because you cannot fight, is that it?” He sneered. From Sara’s vantage point, Sophia seemed content with watching him as he paced around. She rolled her eyes at his sort—seems like the square-jawed, chest-puffing braggart was a staple jackass anywhere, even in a secret society. “How will you defend yourself with a book? Will you read us all to sleep?”

Unbeknownst to them, Ra’s had entered the room and nodded at Sophia.

“Avrai ciò che meriti,” Sophia said, and threw the book at his face, the spine directly hitting his nose. Blood started gushing out immediately, and some of the older assassins chuckled. She quickly took her truncheon out and hit him on the solar plexus before sweeping his feet. She picked up the book and started to walk away, nonchalantly, and only then did Sara realize that she was just a little bit slack jawed. The taller trainee moved up, clutching his gut. He pulled out a dagger and Sara found herself gasping as he lunged towards Sophia.

“Al-Faylasuf!”

Sophia ducked, hit the trainee with the book on the temple, elbowed him in the gut, before twisting the arm with the dagger until he let it go. She stared him in the eye and muttered something to him harshly, before breaking his arm completely. When Sophia looked up, Ra’s nodded at her briefly and then left. Two of Sara’s fellow initiates got the man standing and he walked away. Sophia stalked out of the hall and Sara could only watch as her training resumed.

A few hours later, she set out in search of Sophia. At this late in the evening, she could be anywhere, but she had a few guesses. She tried for the obvious one, in the library, but only a few of her fellow initiates were there. She then tried to go down in the kitchens, only to be tossed an apple by Nyssa, who was clearly sneaking down for a late-night snack. She then decided to head to the greenhouse, in the hopes that the assassin would be visiting the gardens late at night. When she got there, Sophia was talking to someone. She made a motion with the small axe she drew from her coat—where did she even get that, Sara wondered—and the two of them laughed.

Before she can even step out of the shadows, she heard a voice speak out loud. “My apologies, dear friend, it seems that someone wants to make their presence known. Ta-er al-Sahfer?”

Cursing herself for being so easily made, she stepped out. The man Sophia was talking to was clutching a small purse and nodded to both of them, knowing he was good as dismissed.

“You must have a death wish to attempt to sneak up on me,” Sophia said, smiling. “Do you?”

Sara held her hands up and walked towards her. “No, Al-Faylasuf, I was not—”

“Sneaking up on me? Following me around? Wanting to catch me alone?” Sophia asked, smirking. She started walking around the garden and Sara followed, half a step behind her. “I knew you would. You almost had your throat sliced earlier, trying to divine why I smiled at you.” She picked up a ripe orange and smelled it, as they continued walking around the gardens. The two of them continued walking until they reached the grassy part of the gardens, surrounded by stone benches and flowers. She looked at Sara, amused. “Are you really so easily beguiled?”

“I’m not beguiled,” Sara said, mildly offended that this seasoned warrior thought of her as a mere flirt, out to catch a dalliance. She pushed thoughts of Oliver away from her mind. “Why were you even looking at me? And why would you read at a room where everyone was fighting?”

Sophia’s smirk became a slight smile. “If you’ll notice, Ta-er al-Sahfer, I was watching everyone. You must have a high opinion of yourself to think that I only had eyes for you.”

Sara rolled her eyes, not caring who she was speaking to for a second. “You smiled at me.”

“I may have, yes. What of it?”

“If you think this woman of mystery thing you have going on is cute,” Sara put her hands up and the other woman had the audacity to chuckle. “Ugh. Whatever. I don’t have to do this.”

“You must be curious after tonight’s duel.” Sophia eyed her from head to toe. “You’re not very good at cloaking how you feel, Ta-er Al-Sahfer. At least not yet.”

“Are you toying with me?”

“Are we going to spend the evening trading quips or do you have a reason for being in the gardens late this evening?” Sophia asked, before peeling the orange and chewing on a slice. “As you’ll notice, it’s not a popular pastime for assassins, even less so for those so green to the League.”

“Why is there even a garden in this place?”

“Nanda Parbat houses hundreds of warriors trained for at least half of the day every single day, they have varied appetites, a garden is only logical,” Sophia replied. “Not to mention, Ra’s Al Ghul has multiple concubines and some of them enjoy their flowers live and freshly picked.”

“You’re so glib about a man everyone else here is afraid of.”

“The gardens are not a secret,” Sophia replied. “And you cannot fear what you know well.”

“What do you mean?”

“What have you heard of me?”

“You arrived in Nanda Parbat as a young girl,” Sara replied, from rote memory. “They said that Ra’s found you himself and that you trained alongside Talia and Nyssa for years.”

“Before Talia left, yes,” The two of them stopped at a stone bench. It was cool, and Sophia continued eating her way through the orange. “I have been here since I was twelve years old. Do you know how he found me? How I got to Nanda Parbat?”

Sara shook her head.

“My parents had taken a beach trip to Italy. I was on a boat trip and we headed to a secluded beach. I went missing, supposedly, but in reality I was kidnapped. To the world, I was dead. My parents never recovered me or the ransom they supposedly paid for me.”

Sara gasped, softly.

“My kidnappers had made the mistake of making a stop,” She continued. “I took a screwdriver to the gas tank and ran away as far as I could. When Ra’s found me, I was sleeping behind a tree in a forest. He and a few members of the League were doing reconnaissance. Had they found me later, I may not have been alive.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty, same age as you are.”

“You seem so wise,” Sara murmured softly. “At least wiser than I am.”

“Don’t be so sure about that just yet,” Sophia said, smiling once more. “I have gotten into my own share of mischief on these grounds and have been punished for it.”

“You?” Sara asked, laughing lightly. “The book-toting warrior?”

Sophia merely nodded. She then stood up, tearing the orange peel into pieces. “I’ll leave this in the garden, keeps the cats out that way. Last year, they got into some of the plants and at least two members nearly got scurvy. Isn’t it amazing what blooms in harsh conditions?”

“Yes,” Sara said, unsure of what really to add. “Cats?”

“I’m not too fond of them. They have a purpose, keeping pests and rats away from the produce, but I can’t say that I would willingly take care of one.”

Sara smiled in wonder, as if she had been bequeathed a secret. “You’re a dog person.”

Sophia smiled back at her. “German Shepherds, specifically. I like them smart and loyal.”

Sara smiled. The two of them headed back towards the greenhouses. Sophia would occasionally bend down and drop the peels near some plants. After she dropped the last one, she stood up, drawing herself to her full height. She stood only a couple of inches taller than Sara and yet she seemed a more formidable figure. “Did you learn martial arts from your father?”

Sara whipped her head towards the other woman. “What do you know about my father?”

“Detective at Starling City Police Department? A lot.” She circled Sara, waiting for any tells. “A true assassin is not one who does not have feelings, it’s one who understands that they can be used as a weapon, especially against ourselves. I know he has mourned your passing. I know he is no longer married to your mother. I know your sister wanted to be a police officer, to follow in the steps of your father. And you wanted to be a doctor. Was I right, Sara Lance?”

Sara glared at Sophia, wondering how she’d planned to use this information.

The other woman brushed her nails on her jacket. “But that’s information anyone can pull, anyone can find, if they knew where to get it. That’s not the kind of information I specialize in.” She stopped right in front of Sara and stared her straight in the eyes. “Your sister. She’s an assistant district attorney, and she has yet to figure out if she ought to mourn you or hate you, because she knows exactly what it meant when you took your little trip on the Queen’s Gambit with Oliver Queen.”

Sara gasped, her eyes welling up. “You’re lying.”

“Look me in the eyes, Ta-er al-Sahfer,” Sophia demanded, tilting her chin so they could look into each other’s eyes. “Do you think I’m lying? Do you think anything I’ve said is untrue?”

Sara tried to look away, but Sophia gently brought face back towards her.

“If you are to combat injustice, you cannot look away from the truth. That is why I am still here. That is why I train, so that my knowledge can be used for good,” Sophia said, her lips thinning into a line. “A warrior cannot cower from the thing he or she seeks to vanquish.”

Eager to deflect, Sara muttered, “Do you always speak like one of those old philosophers?”

Sophia grinned. “How do you think I got my name?”

Without realizing it, the two of them were back at the entrance to the garden. “I have much work to do before sunrise, Ta-er al-Sahfer, but you should rest. Or should I call you Sara?”

“Maybe, sometimes, you can call me Sara. When we’re alone.”

“Very well. Come back for your next lesson tomorrow night.”

Sara’s eyes widened at Sophia, who only laughed, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “You watched me closely as I fought off that Neanderthal and you have been meaning to ask me how I learned to fight the way I did. Your intentions were very… naked, in a manner of speaking.”

Sara hoped the lack of light would cover for the heat slowly rising to her cheeks. “Are you ever going to let me talk or will you just be reading my mind the entire time?”

Sophia shrugged, but another smile was dancing around her eyes.

“I look forward to tutoring you, Sara,” Sophia said, softly, and the sincerity warmed Sara’s heart.

“So am I.”

As Sara walked back, she realized that for the first time in the three months that she had been in Nanda Parbat, she felt she could breathe. She took a deep breath and hurried back to her room.


	4. Sophia, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara's past points her to a possible future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little bit of smut. It's my first time, so let me know how that works for you.

Rip had abandoned the Legends for his new friends at the Time Bureau. No, worse than that. There was no gratitude for what they had just done because only the Legends and Rip remember what happened, and clearly Rip was all too happy to wash his hands off of the Legends, because when the time came to place them back in the real world, they got stuck with horrible jobs. Mick, Nate, Amaya, Martin, and Jax headed back to Central City. Sara and Ray opted to move back to Star City and find jobs there. At least they could be with family. Or so she hoped. She thought she could survive it, think of her pause as a furlough. 

This was every bit the quiet that Sara had been wishing for these past two years, but upon her return, things weren’t so cut and dry. Team Arrow had found themselves in trouble and her own father advised her to distance herself from him and from Oliver, even if she wasn’t planning on staying long. So she did. She found an apartment, she found a crappy retail job, and she tried to be normal. She tried to pretend she did not have family and friends in this city. 

It itched every time she had to put on the Sink Shower & Stuff uniform. It itched when she’d read a paper and see her father or Oliver in the news. It itched when she had to look at her IDs and find a different last name, because she had to be protected from her father and Oliver’s enemies. It itched that no one knew about the difficult decision she made to save time. 

Fuck it, it was a Saturday, she didn’t have to work the next day, it’s been three months since she’s been in this purgatory, and she needed a drink. She changed into her favorite uniform while going out: a leather jacket, a sleeveless tank top, dark leather pants, and a pair of sneakers. She made sure to have an ID ready, along with a discreet set of weapons. She glanced at herself and smiled—it was the closest thing she had to her old Canary get-up. 

Thirty minutes later and she found herself at The Rum House, a piano bar that promised live jazz and dark spirits. No one knew her, thank goodness, and no one batted an eyelash at her IDs. In short order, she found herself at a small table, waiting for her drink. 

She saw a commotion close to the bar, a few people taking pictures with someone. A few months of being back in Star City in her own world and time didn’t make Sara any wiser to any celebrities or influencers or whatever. She ignored the commotion until she saw a hand set her Old Fashioned down at her table. 

“I have long wished that we’d see each other again, my love.”

She looked up and there she was. Sophia. 

Sara immediately sat up and took a generous swig of her drink, blinking twice. Sophia gave her a nearly imperceptible nod. “Jesus. What are you doing here?”

“I have an office here,” Sophia replied and smiled at her. She motioned to take a seat, only doing so when Sara nodded. “You are far more beautiful now than when I first met you.”

Sara had been on the receiving end of many a pass, but only one other person could be so bold and forward and make the pass successfully. “You should see me during the day.” She shook her head and looked at the woman seated in front of her. “How—how is this possible?”

“It seems fate has decided to make us cross our paths again,” Sophia only replied. “Have you had dinner? My meeting ran late and I haven’t eaten much all day.”

“Yeah, sure. Me neither,” Sara gave her a side-eye. “You have some explaining to do.”

“My suspicions have been proven correct, so it seems,” Sophia murmured, making Sara look at her curiously. “Yes, I do owe you an explanation. Would you prefer to dine out and find a different bar or restaurant or would you be alright dining at my home?”

“I’m curious to see what your pad looks like,” Sara said. “Home it is.”

The two of them were driven to a skyscraper shaped almost like a double helix, with greenery surrounding the skyscraper. The driver went round the back to a different entrance, and soon enough, the two of them had taken an elevator ride to what turned out to be a penthouse unit. The place was modern, all glass, marble, steel, and greenery. Sophia watched her take it all in as an assistant walked out of the kitchen. The assistant nodded at Sara, making quick introductions, before telling Sophia that her dinner was ready. 

“Will that be all for the evening, Ms. Montalban?”

“Yes, thank you,” Sophia replied and the two of them shook hands. “Have a good weekend.”

“Please keep her from working during the weekend, Ms. Lance. That one will try to, at least once,” The assistant threw behind her, making Sara laugh softly. Sophia only rolled her eyes. 

“Your impertinence is not endearing.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Out!”

Sophia watched as the elevator doors closed once more before she spoke. “Madeleine has been my longtime assistant, has been since I got back and took the reins of this company from my parents. Her mother was my mother’s long-time executive assistant.”

“How are your parents?”

A dark look passed over Sophia’s face. “They passed away a few years ago. People said that they only stayed alive until I was ready to take over the company. We managed to build a good relationship before they passed, along with some members of my extended family.”

“And this condo?”

“Not a residential complex, but an office I happen to have a residence in as well, among other features,” Sophia explained. “Welcome to Sage. I live here, yes, but mainly it serves as the research and development complex for the world’s leading futures company. We have interests in agriculture, education, clean energy, logistics and transportation, and technology.”

“Still working gardens, I see.”

Sophia tilted her head curiously, as if Sara had just revealed something to her. The slight lines around her eyes trended upwards. “You know what? No one has put it like that.” 

She ushered Sara into the kitchen and to the spread that had been prepared for them. Between bites, Sara found herself staring at her former lover. The suit had fit Sophia perfectly, as if there was a seamless transition from her League armor, leather, chainmail, and steel to the one she now wore to the boardroom. She wore glasses now, a far cry from her time at the league, and they only seemed to frame her brown eyes even better. There still was that pixie cut, but there was an undercut on both sides now, and it gave her a bit of an edge. 

“God, this is good,” Sara said, moaning slightly. 

A blush instantly appeared on Sophia’s face. “You’re fucking incorrigible.”

“Oh, she swears!” Sara replied, clearly delighted. “Here I thought you just like talking like an old-timey philosopher or author.” She gestured to the drumstick she was holding. “Really good, though. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had a good home cooked meal. Thank you.”

“Wine?” She nodded and Sophia poured white wine into two glasses. “Shall we talk?”

The two of them looked at each other before Sara broke the stare and looked into her wine, fingers circling the counter. “I want to know why you left, even when you won the duel.”

“You have to know, I tried to avoid a duel. We were together. I found it unnecessary, not to mention medieval, for us to even consider dueling. But the League has clear rules about challenges and Nyssa issued a challenge. Even without Ra’s knowing, being his child alone meant that I could not simply brush it aside,” Sophia explained. “In the weeks before the duel, she found out that I was going away on several missions. It cut down the time we spent together. Even my team kept getting pulled apart. I thought at first I had done well enough to train them that they would be sent off on their own missions, but in hindsight, it would not be surprising if she intentionally made things more difficult for me. For us.”

Sara thought back to that time, to the people they all were. Nyssa was devoted, but to the point of obsession. If there was anything she wanted, there was nothing stopping her from getting it. Sophia was by the book and certainly would not have ignored the League’s rules. 

“After they sent you back to your quarters, Ra’s Al Ghul said to me that my options were to be released or to be subject to the League’s wrath. I had won, true, but it would be humiliating for him and for Nyssa if word got out that she had been bested by someone who had not even been in the League for a decade, especially in what essentially was a back alley fight,” Sophia added. “It would embolden his enemies. If I chose to stay, he said he could not guarantee my safety, even with his respect for what I’d done for him. Nor would he guarantee yours.”

Sara thought about the choice that Sophia had been asked to make that night. Give up a love and a community she knew for nearly half of her life, in exchange for two lives. Be willingly thrown into the wilderness of modern life with barely a warning. To be untethered. 

To keep her safe.

“But if I left immediately, I would keep you alive and safe,” Sophia paused, and then polished off her glass, before pouring herself another one. “I would be released and I could send you messages, let you know how much I still loved you, ask you to wait for me. I thought, foolishly, that if by some stroke of fate you would be released, that we could always find each other.” Sophia reached out for her hand and Sara let her hold it. “I only regret not telling you, but it was worth it. When your safety was on the line, it was worth it.” 

“I never got a message. Or a letter. I mourned you, I thought you were dead.”

Sophia rounded the counter and held her. “I’m sorry, Sara. I didn’t mean to put you through so much grief. I thought I had enough allies to get my messages through to you.”

She shrugged and then patted Sophia’s hand. “I don’t think there’s anything to forgive. How could I when you gave me good memories? During my darkest moments, I always wondered how you could smile like you did, just eating an orange.”

“It was the only way I could hold onto me, to what’s real. There were days before you came into my life that I found myself forgetting what my home looked like, what my parents looked like. I almost forgot that I had life before the League found me. When I came back, my life was a circus. I couldn’t tell them about the League. All they know is that a family took me in and kept me alive,” She sat next to Sara and looked up at her. There it was, her eyes shining bright again. “The life I have now, I only feel I could handle it because of Nanda Parbat. I believe we were meant to pass through the League, so that our paths may cross.”

“Are you saying us meeting, it was meant to be?” Sara asked, amused. 

Sophia gave her a knowing glance. “The universe works in mysterious ways, does it not? We are both alive, when logic says we should not have survived what we did. But we did.” 

“Why are our paths crossing again?”

“I don’t know.” She was about to pour them both some wine, but hesitated. “I could have someone take you home to your place. I’d rather we kept talking and catch up, but if you feel this is enough of a flashback, I can always have someone bring you home.”

“After all this time, are you really letting me go that easy?”

“No. If I had my way, no. Not ever, my love,” Sophia replied, refilling their wine. There was a tender look in her eye, with enough pain to give Sara pause. “I just want it to be your choice this time, not mine. Nor anyone else’s, for that matter. I’m here, Sara. The rest is your choice.”

“I want to stay. I think it would be good to catch up and drink wine,” She said, holding up her glass. “No one really understands. Even in a ship full of outcasts and misfits, no one really understands what all of those years in the League did to me. To you. To us.”

“You’re a good soul, Sara Lance.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sara said, looking away and scuffing her feet on the floor. 

“You’re a survivor. We survived Nanda Parbat and we got to walk away. Never forget that.”

Sara looked into the brunette’s eyes and saw the love and affection she saw all those years ago when they first kissed, hidden deep in the forest where no one could see them. She was twenty, and Sophia was a light, a guidepost, a path to a way home. 

“Now, will you tell me where you’ve been the past five years? I knew you’d returned, I heard reports of a vigilante after the Green Arrow first surfaced, I heard about the rooftop—” Sophia took a deep breath and looked at her. Relief flooded her eyes. “My friends in the League, few as they were, told me about it, they said that you were gone and then the Lazarus Pit brought you back, but after that, they heard nothing of you. I feared that you might have died, again.”

Sara began her own story of the past few years, starting with being recruited by Rip to become a Legend and the adventures that she’d had, dealing with Vandal Savage, the Legion of Doom, the Dominators, and meeting historical figures. Sophia put her head down on her arms, fascinated by her stories. She talked about the Spear of Destiny and seeing Laurel again. She also talked about Gideon and about the Waverider’s technology, which fascinated Sophia. She squeezed her hand as Sara told of those few minutes that she spent with her sister. 

“Camelot is real? As in the Round Table, King Arthur, Guinevere?”

“Yes,” Sara smiled fondly at the memory of her kiss with the queen. “She’s a fierce warrior.”

“Seems like more than that, if your face was any indication,” Sophia teased. 

“So, you believe all of it?”

“We trained under a secret organization with members who have dabbled in magic and advanced technology. I don’t think there’s anything not to believe, after what we’ve all seen,” Sophia said, shrugging. “It certainly puts some things into perspective.” She stood up so suddenly that Sara was afraid she’d topple over, and then she started walking to a different room. Sara followed quickly, until they rounded the corner to a library and private office. 

“Siobhan, the lights, please,” Sophia called out and the lights turned on. Sara stared at her, surprised, and Sophia smiled impishly. “Sara, this is my other assistant, Siobhan. She’s our A.I. Siobhan, can you pull up articles on the building that’s just been inaugurated in Star City?” To Sara, she says, “It’s tall, bland, boring, and full of nothing but people in suits.”

“And this building isn’t?”

“This building is a wonderful example of sustainable futuristic architecture,” Siobhan replied, a bit haughtily. Sophia cackled. “Not my words, but Architectural Digest’s.”

“Now, now we’re all friends here. This building is everything you expect from a technology company,” Sophia said, her mock outrage turning into good humor quickly. Sara still marveled at how easy it was for Sophia to shift to humor, to deflect potentially difficult situations, to disarm people. Perhaps this was her superpower. “Siobhan, the articles please.” 

A wall of articles appeared on the large TV screens in the library. “This tall, nondescript building is one of the most private, most discreet office buildings in the city. Not everyone knows what it is. All we know is that this is the building for an organization named Canlon. Normally, I wouldn’t look into it too closely, but tell us about the building, Siobhan.”

“Yes, Ms. Montalban. The building is fitted like some of the most secure facilities for defense departments around the world. It is impervious to bullets and explosions.”

“Which would be odd considering they’re supposedly a building materials company.”

“Maybe they’re extra paranoid.”

“The name Canlon, it doesn’t mean anything,” Sophia continued. “Except we cross-checked it with existing names and it matches a Filipino god of time. Kanlaon.”

A logo flashes in front of the screen, as well as a photo of a man in blue wearing a pin on his jacket’s lapel. There’s a vague outline of a globe and words, but nothing clear enough.

“They’re in matching suits. CCTV cameras, curiously enough, have blurred the text on what is on that lapel pin. Then there are these two people present at the inauguration with officials from City Hall. They’re supposedly Canlon board directors. The tanned man with the grey hair is a Director Bennett and the other one matches the profile of some law enforcement expert. Oddly, he was apparently a former film student and a contemporary of George Lucas named—”

“Phil Gasmer,” Sara finishes, eyes betraying a familiarity with the man in question. 

“That’s exactly right,” Sophia says, surprised. “How do you—oh. This is Rip Hunter, isn’t it?” Sara only nodded. “And this building. It’s an office for a federal agency focusing on time travel.”

Sara grinned, suddenly getting an idea. “Thank you, Siobhan. And you, Sophia.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Lance.”

Before Sara could walk out, Sophia had a hand on her arm. “What are you planning?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Sara, tell me you’re not breaking into a federal agency.”

“I’m  _ not _ breaking into a federal agency,” Sara says, then adds, “At least not right now.”

Sophia exhales, mollified. Then her lips part into the widest, most shit-eating grin Sara has ever seen on her. “There is something else you could be doing right now. Do you want to dance?”

Sara rolls her eyes and grins. For once, she lets herself be led, and the two of them head into a music room. Of course Sophia has a music room. If she looked hard enough, there’s probably a gym and a pool in this place. She lets herself be led, be pampered, be rewarded. This is how she and the rest of the Legends should have been treated after saving the time from the Legion of Doom, and damn it, she’s going to take advantage of all of this comfort, all this unabashed affection from someone she knows won’t do her harm. 

The lights are low and Sophia walks to the vinyl player, which starts blasting Barry White from the speakers, his bass stirring something in Sara that she hadn’t felt in a while. 

“What am I gonna do with you?” Sophia lip-syncs along, twirling Sara and then holding her close. Sara slips into the club days of her youth and after a few songs, the two of them are too close, doing more grinding than dancing. The room’s temperature ratches up a few degrees and when Sara turns around, Sophia’s tie is undone and her eyes are bright. 

That’s all it takes for Sara to make a decision, and she shucks her leather jacket, mindful of Sophia watching her every move. She pulls Sophia in by the ends of her necktie and tugs hard for a kiss, a little rougher than the kisses they shared in Nanda Parbat. Sophia grins into the kiss, as if she’s thrilled at seeing this side of Sara. Maybe she is. The two of them kiss and move around, and somewhere along the way Sara loses her shirt and a bra, but not the jacket. 

Never the jacket. 

(“Keep that on,” Sophia growled, and really, who was she to refuse?)

Sophia expertly navigates them through the pad to a door and pins her on it. She kisses up Sara’s neck and her teeth scratch lightly behind Sara’s ear, creating a delightful frisson that she feels in her core. Sophia nudges her inside and divests Sara of her belt and her pants in quick succession as the two of them walk backwards to the bed. 

Siobhan, unlike Gideon, seems to understand the need for privacy and the door closes with a clear ‘snick!’ behind it, the lights immediately low. 

“God, I’ve missed you.”

All that’s left of Sophia is her, lipstick smudged on her lips, and that white shirt. Sara grabs her and rolls them both until she’s on top. Sophia lets out a laugh and Sara laughs too, and then Sophia looks at her tenderly, that rush of affection clearly flowing through her. She reverses Sara’s hold and pins Sara to the bed, head immediately ducking to kiss and nip. Sara tries to get up and Sophia uses a bit of that League training, pushing her chest down and keeping her pinned. Sara chooses, just as Sophia does: She’ll lie back and enjoy this gift. 

“Let me take care of you,” Sophia promises, and the two of them kiss once more. 

She stirs the next morning. Barely. These sheets must have a thousand thread count, if not more. She is lying on what is probably the softest pillow known to mankind, and there is an arm around her waist. It’s an oasis after these two and a half years spent on nothing but metal and a barely comfortable mattress that she should be replacing soon. Probably. If she gets Gideon and the Waverider back, she’s fabricating a mattress. And better sheets. 

The two of them spent hours and hours in pleasure, the sheer sweetness and adoration in it suffused her with happiness, the passion in it just enough edge to keep things exciting. Sara smiled at the memory of her sitting on Sophia’s face, hands gripping the headboard tightly as her body undulated over and over, before Sophia tipped her over and kissed down her body, leaving marks everywhere before she’d taken a strap-on and fucked Sara, fast and rough, with none of the tenderness or romance of the previous rounds. 

Lips start to move from her shoulder to the back of her neck and she turns around to kiss Sophia, who is grinning at her. If the clock is right, they’d only been asleep for five hours. Sara thinks of mornings spent just like this on less comfortable beds, the two of them barely waking up in time for sunrise. She allows herself another indulgence and leans against Sophia, who asks Siobhan to show them the city. Sara sees sunlight and the urban jungle that is Star City. 

It’s both home and not and that tension tugs at her heart just a little bit harder today. 

She sits up, sheets pooling around her waist. 

Sophia regards her. She does know a pensive mood when she sees it. 

“What are you thinking about?”

Fingers draw circles on her left hip. Sara looks at the landscape. This is what Sophia can give her. A quiet life in a city but not one lacking for passion or humor. Not one lacking in love, certainly. It’s all she ever wanted—the hustle and bustle of the city but the peace and quiet of Waverider, when it’s late at night and the ship just is in the temporal zone. 

“Where I’m supposed to be, what I’m supposed to do. Who I am without that ship.”

“You were someone before that ship and you will be someone after, if it comes to that,” Sophia said, and for once the vagueness of her words were a balm to Sara. “You know better than anyone that our lives can be forged and reforged by our own choices. To be you, here and now? That’s enough. And if time wants you to do something else, it will let you know.”

“But what do I do? I can’t work at Sink, Shower, and Stuff forever.”

“I know someone interested in recording what you’ve seen on the Waverider… for research purposes. Definitely not for public consumption.” Sophia offered, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’ll think about it.” Sara leaned back and regarded Sophia. “I believe someone promised to take care of me and it’s only eight in the morning on a Sunday, so...”

Sophia rolls both of them over and the two of them kiss once more. 


End file.
